A Question About Morgan Dollars

Crjenkins, Morgans tend to be cheaper here in Canada, at least lower grades. Of course there are far fewer of them here. So you should have no trouble getting at least a few at a modest price.

That's a rather misleading statement, and here's why.

First, there are many R5 VAMs, several R6/R7.

Second, there are many dates and mintmarks which are extreme condition rarities, especially in PL / DMPL designations. Try finding Gem+ (66 or higher) 1896-O or 1897-O, or 1880-O, or several other dates and mintmarks. There are DMPL-graded examples of several dates and mintmarks that are R7 to R8, with less than 20-10 examples known to exist.

Third, Zerbe/Chapman 1921 proofs are most definitely rare by any sense of the word "rare." All regular Morgan proofs are scarce to rare in terms of survival.

Fourth, millions were made, but as many millions were melted. The true scarcity is nearly impossible to determine for many dates and mintmarks. Every time silver spikes, more and more get turned into ingots. A large but unknown amount of the Treasury vault releases from the 60s were turned back into silver bars by the early 80s with the peak of the Hunt fiasco.

Fifth, it has been 35-40 years since the last major hoards were discovered. Odds are strong that if there were any major hoards left, they'd have been outed by now.

Just some things to think about. AB